MacKenzie Scott, who has given away billions in philanthropic donations since 2019, has filed for divorce from her second husband, science teacher Dan Jewett, after 18 months.
In a petition filed in King County Superior Court in Washington state, the couple asked the court to dissolve the marriage, noting that “spousal support is not required,” Bloomberg reported. Scott and Jewett appear to have a mutually agreed upon contract detailing how personal property will be divided.
It is unclear if the two had a prenuptial agreement.
Scott, who was previously married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is one of the richest people in the world, with an estimated net worth of $28.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The number used to be much higher, but Scott has been giving away his fortune at an impressive rate. (Between June 2021 and March 2022, it said, it gave more than $3.8 billion to 465 nonprofits. To date, it has given more than $12 billion in four funding rounds.)
The file did not indicate any reason for the separation. Washington has what’s called a 90-day cooling-off period in its divorce law, meaning no couple can divorce in that time, even if all outstanding issues are agreed upon. However, couples can be granted a legal separation almost immediately.
Signs of trouble
Signs of potential trouble emerged last week, when Jewett’s name, picture and letter (which first announced their marriage last year) disappeared from the website of the Giving Pledge, a public vote by billionaires to give away half of their wealth before they die. .
His name was also quietly removed from a Medium post Scott made last year about donations, as well as his author bio page on Amazon.
And nonprofits that received grants typically had thanked both Scott and Jewett. Recent recipients, however, have only mentioned Scott.
Who is Dan Jewett?
Before marrying Scott in March 2021, Jewett was a popular science teacher at a Seattle school attended by Scott’s children. She left the school after the marriage was announced, saying she felt her presence on campus would have been a distraction.
Many friends and colleagues were shocked when Jewett revealed that he and Scott had married.
Friends described him to the time as someone with “no sense of greed”. In his now-deleted Giving Pledge memo, he wrote that he was “grateful for the exceptional privilege it will be to partner to give away assets with the potential to do so much good when shared.”
However, it is not clear what role it ultimately played in philanthropic giving.
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